Ottawa calls for binding arbitration in dispute with flight attendants
Yesterday, Air Canada announced it would not proceed with its planned resumption of limited flights after the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) instructed flight attendants to disregard a Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) directive to return to work.
The airline now expects to restart operations Monday evening.
Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights have been grounded since August 16, 2025, due to a strike by CUPE.
Binding arbitration for Air Canada dispute
The federal government, led by Prime Minister Mark Carney, intervened in the dispute, with Minister of Jobs and Families Patty Hajdu invoking Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to end the strike and refer the matter to arbitration.
The Code states: “The Minister, where the Minister deems it expedient, may do such things as to the Minister seem likely to maintain or secure industrial peace and to promote conditions favourable to the settlement of industrial disputes or differences and to those ends the Minister may refer any question to the Board or direct the Board to do such things as the Minister deems necessary.”
As a result of CUPE’s defiance, roughly 240 flights scheduled for Sunday afternoon were cancelled, affecting a network that typically operates 700 flights daily.
Air Canada is advising customers whose flights have been cancelled not to go to the airport unless they have confirmed bookings with other airlines. The company is offering affected passengers a full refund, travel credit, or rebooking on other carriers, though available seats are limited during the peak summer season. Flights operated by Air Canada Express partners Jazz and PAL are continuing as scheduled.
CUPE presidents rips up back-to-work order
In a public demonstration, CUPE National President Mark Hancock tore up Ottawa’s back-to-work order in front of striking Air Canada flight attendants, drawing cheers from the crowd.
“This is not over,” said Hancock. “We will continue to fight on the picket lines, on the streets, at the bargaining table, in the courts, and in Parliament, until the injustice of unpaid work is done for good. Workers will win – despite the best effort of the Liberal government and their corporate friends.”
“This is absolutely shameful and a blatant betrayal,” said CUPE National Secretary-Treasurer Candace Rennick. “The government’s decision to intervene on behalf of an already wildly profitable employer, while a predominantly female workforce fights tooth and nail for a path out of poverty, is not just unjust, it’s a disgraceful misuse of power that reeks of systemic bias and corporate favoritism.”
CUPE maintains that the government’s actions will not resolve ongoing issues and that similar disputes are likely to arise at other carriers. The union continues to call for fair wages and an end to unpaid work for flight attendants across the airline industry.
